While residents of Scottsdale golf homes don’t get to experience the changing colors of falling leaves or keeping heavy winter coats by the doorway, we still like to prepare for the cooler seasons in our own way.
Here are eight easy ideas to welcome fall and winter with do it yourself projects that have a Southwestern décor twist!
- Homemade Potpourri
Although this is readily available in stores, there’s nothing like the aroma of making your own stovetop potpourri. You just need an orange, cinnamon sticks, cranberries, cloves and nutmeg. Slice the orange and add all ingredients to a pot. Set on simmer and enjoy the wonderful smells of the holidays. Remove from heat, cover and reuse for weeks.
- Serving Tray Signage
This is a great tip for any season. Pick up a metal tray from a thrift store like Goodwill and paint the bottom with blackboard paint. Use chalk to design a message or even use it as a spot for daily reminders. You can also mount it to the wall or display with a plate holder. Or, use as an actual serving tray at your holiday party and write the items or ingredients next to what you’re serving.
- Pumpkin Vase
Create a custom vase with just a pumpkin and a tin can. Place the tin can on top of the pumpkin and try to trace around the bottom. Then cut into the pumpkin just the size of the tin can. Be careful to cut straight down and not at an angle so that the tin can will fit snugly inside. Scoop out the pumpkin (toasted pumpkin seeds, anyone?) and place the tin can in the hole. Just add water and foliage.
- Pumpkin Book
When you’re at the thrift store looking for a serving tray, look for a thick book, too. Remove the cover but keep the book spine intact. Cut the corners of the pages to round out the book. Find a short stick from the yard and glue to the spine, then bring the pages around to glue the first and last page together, creating a book pumpkin.
- Mason Jar Snow Globe
Mason jars have become all the rage lately, especially since they can be used for so much more than canning. This easy to follow tutorial explains how to fill your own jars with local holiday plants and scenes, just like the mason jar snow globes from magazines and souvenir stands.
- Mason Jar Sconces
Another trick that can be used for other seasons, mason jar sconces add rustic charm to any space. All you need is jars with wire handles (or add your own), cinnamon sticks, twine, cup hooks and LED candles. Fill the jar with the cinnamon sticks, add the LED candle and twine, then hang from the ceiling with cup hooks.
- Leaf Confetti
Those leaves and pinecones building up in your yard can actually make simple yet festive table decorations. Just gather and spread on top of or in place of a table runner. You can also enhance the real stuff with cutouts and scrapbook paper. Great for mantles and bookshelves, too!
- Lanterns
Lanterns can be used year-round, but when used on a walkway or doorstep, they serve the added purpose of extra light in the winter. At the doorstep, varied heights of lanterns create the best effect. Along a walkway, think of lanterns like more durable luminaries. Or alternate LED candles and fall foliage or mini pumpkins. As winter rolls in, replace the pumpkins with pine cones and holly.
Whether you’re setting the tone for your family, a holiday party or an open house (especially with the potpourri), Southwestern fall décor can be simple, cheap and local. Remember that pumpkins are grown right here in Arizona and thrift stores like Goodwill support the local community.
Looking for golf homes for sale in Scottsdale to show off your décor? The Matheson Team can help! We’re experts in AZ golf homes and their communities.
Don Matheson
Realtor | Founder
The Matheson Team – RE/MAX Fine Properties
21000 N. Pima Rd., #100, Scottsdale, AZ 85255
480-405-4228
don@azgolfhomes.com
[gravityform id=”1″ title=”false” description=”false”]